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Shelyn
Shelyn (pronounced SHEHL-ihn) is the goddess of art, beauty, love, and music, and the half-sister of Zon-Kuthon. She started life as a relatively minor deity of beauty, art, and music, but with the destruction of her unnamed mother, the former goddess of love, Shelyn gained her mother's portfolio. Shelyn continues to focus on beauty and the related areas of art and music, and has expanded upon her mother's relatively narrow view of love to include all forms of the emotion. Dogma Beauty Before she became the goddess of love, Shelyn was flighty and shallow. Since discovering the capacity intelligent beings have for loving people and things that lack beauty, she tends to look for beauty in everyone and everything. "Beauty comes from within" is a relatively recent saying she introduced to Other World, and it is a philosophy she not only practices herself, but she requires from her clerics. In this way, it is quite possible for a physically unattractive person to become a cleric of the goddess of beauty. Shelyn focuses just as much attention on internal beauty as external, and she is considered also to have the most beautiful personality, which changed greatly when she became goddess of love. While lesser beauties might inspire jealousy in those who see them, she does not; nor does she herself feel jealous when another receives attention. She encourages the growth and appreciation of beauty, regardless of its source or admirers, and thus she is never jealous. She surrounds herself with flowers, colorful birds, artworks, and other things of beauty. She never uses her beauty as a weapon and she punishes that sort of behavior in her followers. Shelyn gently and kindly rejects all potential suitors. Some call her the Eternal Maiden, while others claim she is the lover of several gods, goddesses, and lesser beings; the truth is unknown. Darker rumors put her in the bed of her half-brother, but such whispered rumors never persist for very long, as Zon-Kuthon does not tolerate such things. Art & music As aspects of her role as goddess of beauty, Shelyn also promotes the creation of art and the composing and performance of music. The art or music need not be particularly well done, just so long as the creator puts in effort. A naturally-talented person who does not try yet still makes beautiful art is appreciated, but not as much as an ungifted artist who struggles for days to create something mediocre. A naturally-talented person who fails to try and creates something mediocre is shunned by Shelyn (and by extension, her clergy). Clerics of Shelyn frequently are artists themselves, although those with little talent more often become art critics or collectors. Shelyn herself has an extensive collection of artwork, mostly gifts from potential suitors or worshipers, most of which portray her. She also has a massive collection of violins and a secret collection of glaives. Love As the goddess of love, Shelyn encourages the proliferation of that feeling in all its forms. She is not the goddess of sexuality, lust, or fertility, and makes a very clear distinction between love and sexuality, although she does not in any way discourage erotic love. She also tends to promote relationships that are not based solely on physical attraction.4 The few paladins who worship her practice courtly love, with female paladins attempting to win the attentions of attractive young noblemen (or sometimes, attractive young noblewomen). Shelyn and her clerics treat love shared between people of the same gender the same as that shared by people of opposite genders. Her continuing love for her brother, despite his many shortcomings, inspires her followers to persevere in the face of strong opposition. Appearance Shelyn's is a unique beauty unparalleled in the Great Beyond. She is beautiful both without and within; all who see her see what they envision as the most perfect beauty (meaning she appears different to everyone). Depictions of Shelyn, regardless of race or ethnicity, show her as a young woman barely out of her youth, with eyes of blue or silver (or sometimes both at the same time). Shelyn's ankle-length chestnut hair bears several strands colored bright red, green, and gold. She always wears tasteful clothing and jewelry that accentuates her beauty without revealing too much. Whisperer of Souls Shelyn bears the glaive gifted to her half brother called the Whisperer of Souls. The weapon was crafted by the former god of smiths, who fell during the same murderous spree that claimed Shelyn's mother. When he received it, the weapon corrupted Zon-Kuthon and convinced him to go to war against the other deities. It was during this war that Shelyn lost her mother and became goddess of love. When created, Whisperer of Souls was given the ability to absorb souls (hence its name) and once it absorbs 100 powerful souls (not just anybody's soul will do) it will become a god in its own right and bring about an era of murder and death. When Zon-Kuthon received the weapon it held no souls; by the time Shelyn stole Whisperer of Souls it had almost all it needed. In the time since, Shelyn has been able to free most of those souls thanks to the help of Nethys and brave adventurers (a grand quest of goodness must be performed to release a soul). Much to the frustration of Whisperer of Souls, it cannot seem to corrupt Shelyn or influence her in any way (earning her the title "the Incorruptible"). Quite the opposite, in fact: when Shelyn first stole the weapon it was a nightmarish and hideous piece of craftsmanship, but in the millennia since, Shelyn has remade it into a beautiful piece of art. It still bears a few ugly remnants, but they become less pronounced with each soul she releases. Providence The goddess occasionally sends direct messages to her faithful in the form of a short, but precise, whispered message. All songbirds are sacred to her, and their presence is considered a blessing. Repellent reflections in mirrored surfaces, quarreling lovers, drab songbirds, and wilted roses are all signs of Shelyn's disfavor. Servants Shelyn has many blessed servants. Among them are her divine servitors, the dapsaras. These angels are the physical embodiment of beauty, art, and grace. Church of Shelyn Worshipers The holy symbol of Shelyn. Shelyn encourages creativity and inspires the world. She challenges her faithful to test their limits, share what they create, and delight in the gifts of others. Shelyn preaches (and practices) that true beauty comes from within, and she favors romances not based solely on lust. Shelyn has been known to offer divine pacts to mortals who finally realize the importance of beauty in the midst of battle. In exchange for a small measure of her divine protection, Shelyn encourages these "foxhole converts" to give every living creature the chance to find the beauty within and leaves them strangely reluctant to strike the first blow in combat.20 Knights of Shelyn are devoted to courtly love, but also are at the ready to defend the innocent. Many serve to ease their own pain of hearts broken from loss. They are willing to protect others from experiencing the same heartbreak. Clergy A devoted muse of Shelyn. Clerics of Shelyn occasionally begin life as artists or musicians and only later come to serve in her clergy. Those who do not are taught to be musicians (whether on an instrument or by singing) and are also taught an artistic skill (usually drawing, but sometimes painting, sculpting, or even acting and other performance arts). Weapon training, which only occurs for about an hour every other day or so, if at all, builds off motions learned from the acolyte's art or music (paladins frequently practice calligraphy, as the movement of the pen mirrors that of the glaive). Clerics of Shelyn endeavor each day to create something of beauty, whether artistically or through unconventional forms, such as a gardener tending a flower garden. Her rangers and druids are usually the types who live off the land, content to watch over places of natural beauty or perhaps hire themselves out to lovers in need of a fresh start in a new place. Quests for Shelyn usually involve rescuing—whether ancient artworks from destruction or star-crossed lovers from their families. They also involve the spreading of art and beauty. Finally, Shelyn occasionally sends followers on generic quests that promote goodness, so she may free another soul. Formal raiment among Shelyn's clergy include leggings and a long tunic for men and at least calf-length skirts or dresses for women, all tailored to inspire beauty, but not to be too revealing. Most are of reddish hue, although silver and blue are also common. Paladins of Shelyn A paladin of Shelyn. Paladins of Shelyn are rare, but there have been some, such as Saint Marcus Odeber son of Arn Odeber, first of the Odeber line. Paladins of Shelyn are peaceable promoters of art and beauty. They see the ugliness in evil, even when cloaked in the form of beauty, and their job is to prevent the weak and foolish from being seduced by false promises. Their tenets include: * I am peaceful. I come first with a rose. I act to prevent conflict before it blossoms. * I never strike first, unless it is the only way to protect the innocent. * I accept surrender if my opponent can be redeemed and I never assume that they cannot be. All things that live love beauty, and I will show beauty's answer to them. * I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come to harm unless greater art arises from its loss. I will only sacrifice art if doing so allows me to save a life, for untold beauty can arise from an awakened soul. * I see beauty in others. As a rough stone hides a diamond, a drab face may hide the heart of a saint. * I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade passes, a life is cut short, and the world's potential for beauty is lessened. * I live my life as art. I will choose an art and perfect it. When I have mastered it, I will choose another. The works I leave behind make life richer for those who follow. Temples and shrines Temples to Shelyn are spacious and filled with art and constantly have some kind of music playing within. They tend to be architectural marvels, and architects and builders frequently vie for the honor to build or repair a temple of Shelyn in order to show off their skills. Most settlements have at least a shrine or altar dedicated to Shelyn, but only the largest cities can really afford a dedicated temple. Rituals dedicated to Shelyn involve singing, regardless of the skill or tone-deafness of the participants. Only those who play a wind or brass instrument (or a chin-set instrument like a violin) are excused from singing. If a ritual cannot be held at a shrine or temple to Shelyn, it should be held in some place surrounded by beauty (natural or man-made). Holy text Melodies of Inner Beauty is the holy text of the church of Shelyn. It contains the history of the goddess, including her family, though drawing a veil over the nastier elements about Zon-Kuthon. It tells stories about Shelyn and discusses her church's dogma. Music is used throughout as many of the tales are set as songs and hymns. Other artistic ways of interpreting the words are also utilized, such as dance and poetry. Other divinely inspired works also exist, some going into more detail about Dou-Bral and Zon-Kuthon. Favored animals Gods are often associated with certain animals, either because they possess a quality favored by the god, or because the god's faithful feel a special kinship to them. Shelyn's favored animals include songbirds, swans, wolves, dolphins, cats, and rabbits.